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Swedes shocked by police's Roma registry

Police cars and an ambulance stand in front of the entrance to a building on Storgatan in central Malmo, Sweden 11 October 2010. EPA/ANDREAS HILLERGREN SWEDEN OUT

Outrage erupted in Sweden after revelations that police in Skane county have kept a record of thousands of Roma people, many of whom have never committed crimes. The list, reportedly labelled "itinerants", appears to be based solely on ethnic background and includes 1000 children, some as young as two years old.

The police in Skane say they will launch an investigation into the registry, which may break several laws. The state may be required to pay $6.2 to $12.5 million (40 to 80 million Swedish kronor) in damages over the registry if the police are found to be in violation of certain laws.

Swedish Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag, according to The Local, responded to the allegations by saying, "This is upsetting, to say the least. Registration based on ethnic background is illegal and does not belong in a society based on the rule of law".

Many people online responded with widespread disgust and shock, using #romgate to discuss the scandal.

Sweden, September 23, 2013 and #romgate trending bigtime. Not a proud moment in Swedish history. :((Elisabet Rydell

Swedish moral authority on rights was always a bit of a myth, but even that mythology is going down the drain now. #Romgate #DNChristianChristensen

@nixenji @Amina_Semlali This is a HUGE scandal. People are totally outraged in #Sweden right now. @tparsi #romgateAnusche Noring

Several Swedes directed sarcastic and outraged tweets to the police on Twitter. Dilsa writes,"Hey @polisen_malmo, I'm not 100% sure that I DON'T have Roma blood. Heard you could be of assistance. Thank you in advance".

Though the response online and throughout Sweden has been predominantly negative, not everyone is outraged. Tommy writes, "If the police have kept an analysis file for eight years, one can assume that they have found it useful. They're not just doing it for the genealogy research".